si Page 418 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Daniil Medvedev broke Andrey Rublev on a point he lost
The big story out of Melbourne today is that Rafael Nadal actually looked like he’s in his mid-30s last night, as he blew a two-set lead to Stefanos Tsitsipas, with the latter looking much the fresher in the fifth set. That sets up a semifinal match with Daniil Medvedev, who when he hasn’t been yell...

Rush Limbaugh, dead at 70, spewed racist filth from every pulpit including ESPN’s
Rush Limbaugh, who died on Wednesday at the age of 70, was a terrible human being whose hate the world is better off not having in it. That includes the sports world, which at least did its best to expel Limbaugh years before the physical world finally did....

The NBA All-Star Game is a fan event, and playing one without them is idiotic and dangerous
For the most part, the NBA has done a good job navigating through the pandemic....

Kylian Mbappé ends Barcelona as we know it with hat trick
There really isn’t a better wielder of the axe that struck the final blow on this era of Barcelona than Kylian Mbappé and his three-goal night. While it’s been Lionel Messi’s world for so long, any minute now it’s going to be Mbappé’s to do with how he sees fit. That is, if it isn’t already....

Laws requiring genital examinations for transgender youth have no place in sports or society
The conversation around transgender girls competing in sports is growing every day....
![For the 47th time, just let the Coyotes die [UPDATED]](https://images.deadspin.com/tr:w-900/a1hzlzsvdoe4bqqo186j.jpg)
For the 47th time, just let the Coyotes die [UPDATED]
There is a Sliding Doors scenario, where the NHL simply let Jim Balsillie buy the Arizona Coyotes and move them to Hamilton, Ontario, more than a decade ago. Would it have worked? Hard to know. Balsillie’s BlackBerry tanked not too long after the proposed buy-date, and could have led to a host of pr...

<i>The Hockey News</i> thinks being tall is diverse
Another day, another screw-up in the world of hockey when it comes to diversity. This time, it was The Hockey News....

Good on you, Jalen Johnson, for sitting out the rest of this disastrous season
One thing that college is supposed to do is serve as a transition between childhood and adulthood, getting people ready for the “real world.” Jalen Johnson is now fully there, making a decision about what’s best for himself and his family, and getting ripped for it by some dope who only sees the wor...

NBA has answered the When, Where and How of the 2021 All-Star Game, but what about the Why?
The NBA released a memo of what their totally farkakte March 7 All-Star Game will look like. The Slam Dunk Contest will indeed take place during halftime of the game, and the 3-Point Contest will be held before the game. Players who are part of the game must travel to Atlanta in private jets and mus...

The Dallas Stars love America, but apparently not their neighbors
Texas’ complete handcuffing by winter’s rare invasion into the state is a scary situation, and thousands not having power or heat in sub-freezing temperatures is a real problem. You know that. I know that. But apparently the Dallas Stars don’t seem to know it, and required the mayor of Dallas’ offic...

The Champions League returns this week... all over the place
One of the rites of...well, not spring exactly, but a rite of reminding you that spring might actually arrive at some point before the light within you has completely extinguished, is the knockout stage of the Champions League. It drops into the sporting scene at the end of February, right after you...

The Lightning’s talent-development assembly line is humming along again
As we’ve commented in the past, even with most seasons across sports being thrown into upheaval, be it shortened preseasons or odd schedules and lineups that change on a daily basis thanks to COVID protocols, the chalk has remained at the top of the standings....

Remembering Leon Spinks’ forgotten upset over Ali 42 years ago
Leon Spinks passed away on February 5 due to prostate cancer at the age of 67. On February 15, 42 years ago, he starred in one of sports’ larger-than-life upsets over one of the most unforgettable boxers to have ever stepped into a ring. If you compile your own Tale of the Tape retrospective, withou...

It’s been a wacky Australian Open, even if no one’s around to see it
As we’ve previously stated, the Australian Open has a surreal quality, at least on these shores, where an already-niche sport takes place in the dark for only the truly dedicated/bewildered. It’s even more so this edition, as on Friday the live spectators were shooed out of the tournament altogether...

Kyrie Irving is having the best season of his career and it's shut up his critics
Maybe, just maybe. Some of them were “pawns.”...

NCAA reveals preseason college football Top 25 … oh, nope, wait, it’s the top 16 March Madness seeds
Top-seeded Gonzaga, Villanova (6 overall), and Virginia (9) crashed a gridiron greats (and merely goods) get-together Saturday, as the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee revealed its prospective top 16 seeds for March Madness. A preview in the mold of the pointless weekly College Football Playoff r...

HEAR IT: Whale of a performance by NWHL star with a capella 'Brass Bonanza,' because why not?
The Carolina Hurricanes are not the Hartford Whalers....

Supercool MLB pitcher Jared Hughes plays amateur Bill Nye with 'liquid nucleation' in his car (We'll explain)
As a free agent, days before spring training, Jared Hughes has some time on his hands. So, the 35-year-old pitcher, who had a 4.84 ERA with 21 strikeouts in 18 relief appearances for the Mets last year, is doing a little home science....

Valparaiso drops mascot linked to KKK & violence after already having ditched Nazi-linked name in '40s; might we suggest one?
You probably haven’t thought much lately about Valparaiso University, the Lutheran school about an hour southeast of Chicago, in the Indiana town that lends its name to the institution....

J.J. Watt's time with Texans is over as franchise star and Houston hero is released, free to go to... Steelers?
As Houston continues to revamp their team and try to resurrect their franchise from the lifeless pit of despair that former head coach and general manager Bill O’Brien left it in, the Texans and J.J. Watt have mutually agreed to part ways. Watt was released today, allowing him to search for a new te...